


That Would Be Enough

by dearzoemurphy



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: AU, F/M, First Meeting, Pre Canon, it's so nice just writing some happy kids, pure fluff, thank you so much for requesting this annoe, very little angst for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 04:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13651431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearzoemurphy/pseuds/dearzoemurphy
Summary: What if Evan was actually able to talk to Zoe after that jazz band concert?Pre-canon, AU "what if?" style fic, lots of fluff and almost no angst.





	That Would Be Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a request from annoe!! This was so much fun to write, I hope you enjoy!!

“Are your hands dry yet?” a voice asked from behind Evan, who was laboring over the hand dryer.

Evan jumped. “Uh, yeah. Kind of,” he said, quickly pulling his hands out from under the dryer and spun around to see none other than his family friend, Jared.

Jared chuckled as he waltzed over to the sinks. “You've been drying your hands since I came in here. That's a long fucking time to be drying your hands,” he said, shutting off the sink.

“Well I- I mean, my hands are super sweaty and I really hate when that happens and I want to try to talk to…people after the concert, so I don't want my hands to be sweaty if I have to shake their hands,” Evan said quickly, his face flushing.

His friend grinned. “You mean finally talk to Zoe Murphy instead of just creepily stalking her, right?” he asked, putting his own hands under the dryer for a few seconds then flicking the rest of the water off.

Evan’s blush deepened to the point where he was as red as a tomato. “I don't stalk her! I just…haven't gotten the chance to have a real conversation with her, that's all,” he explained, wringing his hands.

Jared motioned for Evan to follow him, and the pair began to walk towards the school auditorium. “Okay, so you just make goo-goo eyes at her from the opposite side of your math class every single day and occasionally try to open your mouth around her when standing really close to her in the lunch line but have never exchanged actual words, and have developed a hopeless crush on her in the process. That sounds like stalking, bro,” he said, looking pointedly at Evan.

The other boy’s face flushed again. “Well! I- uh…” he stuttered, trying to defend himself but failing to come up with an adequate excuse.

Jared tried to stop himself from cracking up, but after a few moments, couldn't help himself from bursting out laughing.

“What? For someone who's supposed to be my friend, you're not being very supportive,” Evan said, partially mumbling the last sentence.

“Ah ah ah, family friend, Hansen,” Jared said, wagging a finger in the air.

“Alright, alright. Family friend. But still, you wanted to help me talk to Zoe earlier, and today when I have a good chance to, you're just making fun of me!” Evan said, hurt seeping into his voice.

“Oh, but it's so fun to mess with you! You get all worked up and start blushing and-” Jared started.

“Jared!” Evan interjected, glaring at his friend as they reached the auditorium entrance and both put on fake smiles as they were handed programs by an usher and pointed to open seats. The two walked silently to the middle section of seats, but resumed their conversation when they found an open spot with few people in the vicinity.

“Okay, okay. I'll help you, and really help you, promise,” Jared said, “I have a complex 12-step plan that's guaranteed to work, even for losers like us.”

“Has it ever worked for you?” Evan asked, tilting his head smugly.

Jared opened his mouth to reply, then instantly shut it.

“That's what I thought,” the blonde boy groaned, sinking in his chair and holding his head in his hands.

Jared finally realized how purely nervous his poor friend was, then tentatively reached over to pat him on the shoulder. “Chin up pal, at the very least she hasn't noticed you stalking her, so you still have a chance!” he said, trying to provide encouragement for a change.

Evan looked up slightly and gave Jared a withering stare. Jared returned the glare with an awkward smile. “Listen, this whole encouragement-instead-of-bullying thing is new for me, alright?” he said, to which Evan sighed and straightened up in his chair.

The two boys sat in silence for several minutes, Jared checking the time and Evan nervously tapping his program. The bespectacled boy was about to break the silence with an update on the time when two people shuffled into the seats directly in front of the pair, disrupting their empty block of seats.

“Connor, if I see you roll your eyes one more time this evening, I swear, I'll ground you for a month,” one of them said to a long-haired teen the Evan immediately recognized as Connor Murphy. He tensed, knowing that the red-haired woman must be his mother. Which meant she was also Zoe Murphy’s mother.

Jared also recognized the two Murphy's and turned to Evan, grinning.

“What, Jared?” Evan asked in response to his friend leaning on his hands closer and closer to him, his grin becoming wider and wider.

“I think you know what, lover boy. She's the only reason you're here tonight, isn't she? And here waltzes in your ticket to actually truly meet her” Jared said, knowingly.

Evan’s eyes widened, and he glanced quickly between Zoe’s family in front of them and Jared, blush growing with each passing second. “Well…uh, so what if she is? And um, please keep it down,” he whispered fiercely, anxiety clearly present in his voice.

Jared rolled his eyes. “What, you don't want me the yell about how you have a huge creepy, stalkerish crush on Zo-” he started loudly until Evan quickly and tightly clasped his hand over the brunette’s mouth.

“What did I just ask you to do?” he asked sternly through gritted teeth, then removed his hand from Jared’s mouth.

His friend simply began to cackle. “I've never seen this side of you Hansen, quite spicy for a school environment,” he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

Evan instantly turned the brightest red he had been all night. “I! Jared, why are you like this? And um, anyway, why are you here?” he asked, crossing his arms and slumping in his seat.

Jared waved his hand in Evan’s direction. “Oh, you know. My parents make me go to one school event a month and this seemed the least terrible. And my cousin Rebecca is in the concert so I was forced to go anyway,” he explained.

Neither boy noticed Connor Murphy turned around in his seat, silently observing the conversation unfolding in front of him. Neither noticed him at least, until he interjected.

“There's another reason you're here. I don't know what it is yet, but you're pretty clearly lying,” Connor said. Both Jared and Evan jumped, startled by the long-haired boy’s voice.

Jared sighed. “Oh boy, if it isn't the legendary Emo Murphy. How's your collection of deep, depressing poetry going? Are you still upset about MCR splitting up?” he retorted mockingly, but was clearly having trouble thinking of any good comebacks. However, he'd forgotten one important detail about their current situation.

“Oh my god, I thought I was the only one who made fun of Connor for becoming more emo lately! It's so nice to know he has friends good enough to do that!” the woman next to Connor said, turning around and confirming that she was in fact Cynthia Murphy.

Jared and Evan tensed once more, but Jared made eye contact with Connor then quickly relaxed and carried on the conversation. “Oh yeah, Connor and I? We go way back…” he said, fibbing slightly. Thankfully, Connor wanted to play along and gave a knowing smile, them held out a hand to Jared for a fist bump. The other boy was clearly shocked at first, but once again, quickly recovered and awkwardly returned it.

Cynthia giggled. “So what are your names then? Are you some of the kids that Connor always hangs out with after school?” she inquired, looking up hopefully at the two boys.

Connor looked up as well and gave a subtle nod to them, prodding them to keep playing along and say yes.

“Well…yeah! Of course. And I'm Jared,” he said, holding out his hand to Cynthia for a handshake that she returned.

“Um…I'm uh, Evan,” the other boy croaked, also holding out his hand, but not before trying to sneakily wipe it on his shirt, as it was drenched in sweat once more.

“Evan and Jared!” Cynthia said excitedly, then turned to Connor,” How come you've never told me about them before? You know you could have them over any time you want!” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Connor flinched, and the other boys began to be slowly consumed by a rising sense of dread, unsure of how to keep up the lie from there. “Well, I-” Connor started, but was cut off by the dimming of the lights in the audience and the curtain drawing open on the stage, signifying the beginning of the jazz band concert. They all seemed to simultaneously breath a sigh of relief and adjust themselves to be more comfortable in their seats.

“You're welcome,” Jared barely whispered to Evan, leaning in so he was right next to the blonde’s ear.

Evan’s face flushed. “Um, thanks I guess,” he replied.

Jared opened his mouth to say something else, but decided against it and turned his attention to where Evan’s was; the stage. They both surveyed all the people in the band, and Evan smiled when his eyes landed on Zoe Murphy in the lead guitar spot. The first chord was played and he was hooked. Evan had never really been to a live music performance, and it was intoxicating. The sounds of the instruments blending in perfect harmony calmed him more than anything ever had, and he was hooked by the rapid, intricate riffs that the instrumentalists took turns playing. Jared however was already extremely bored and yawned, but looked over to Evan, who was grinning and sitting on the edge of his seat. He smiled seeing his friend being so happy, and decided simply to sit back in his plush red chair and rest his eyes. The first song ended, and all the audience members politely clapped. Several member changed places on the stage, including Zoe, who stepped up to the frontmost mic. Cynthia squealed in response.

“Whooo, go Zoe!” she yelped, to which Connor sunk further into his seat and covered his face with his hand, and Zoe cracked a small smile on stage. She adjusted a mic so it was level with her, and Evan realized that she was about to sing.

The next song began, and it was even better than the last from the beginning. The melody was more interesting and there were more different, overlapping parts. However, Evan was really hooked when Zoe began to sing.

“I’m gonna love you like nobody’s loved you, come rain or come shine. High as a mountain and deep as a river, come rain or come shine,” she sang.

He was practically on the edge of his seat, entranced by the sound of her voice. Cynthia turned around for a split second and saw Evan, fully into the music and a huge grin plastered on his face. She turned slightly more to Jared, and the two exchanged a knowing smile.

“He likes her, doesn't he?” she asked, leaning in and whispering as quiet as she possibly could to Jared. The boy simply nodded, and Cynthia grinned in return, “alright, I'll make sure he gets to talk to her after the concert.”

Jared smiled again towards Evan as Cynthia turned back around. The rest of the concert went by pleasantly, with Cynthia occasionally glancing to see Evan’s reactions, Connor falling asleep, Jared occasionally exchanging knowing looks with Mrs. Murphy, and Evan being completely and wholly absorbed into the sound. The final note was played, and each musician placed their instruments down and stepped forward to take a bow. Cynthia stood up and began clapping and whooping while Connor attempted to hide himself with his hoodie, Zoe also appearing to blush from the stage. Evan and Jared both clapped vigorously until the whole band left the stage, after which Cynthia turned around to talk to the boys again.

“It was very nice meeting you both! Say, you know Zoe too, right? Do you want to come back to the band room with us to say hi to her?” she asked, completely innocently.

Evan’s jaw dropped as he struggled to reply, so Jared cut in and saved the situation. “Yes, absolutely, that would be nice,” he said quickly, nodding and subtly taping Evan’s jaw so he would close his mouth. The other boy nodded several moments afterwards, to which Connor rolled his eyes and mustered something unintelligible under his breath.

Cynthia grinned. “Great! We know where to go, just follow us,” she said, lightly shoving Connor so he would walk forward out of the isle. Evan and Jared trailed beside them from the aisle above until they reached the stairs where they let Cynthia and Connor go first to lead them to the band room. And to lead them to Evan’s judgement day.

With each step, Evan got a little more nervous. When they reached the hall, his heart began to pound. Jared attempted small talk with Connor, but Evan had to save all of his mental energy for speaking to Zoe, and barely comprehended what was being said. They reached the arts hallway and he felt frozen. Each step he had to take felt like a 700 pound weight being shackled to his ankles. The group reached the band room door and Evan stopped dead in his tracks.

Jared stopped with his friend and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Breathe dude, you're gonna be fine. Just talk to her and…be yourself I guess,” he said, attempting to motivate Evan.

Connor overheard the conversation and spun around. “Yeah, my sister has been pitifully single all of high school and has shockingly low standards, you're gonna do just fine, dude,” he said, grinning.

“Connor!” Cynthia shrieked, lightly slapping Connor on the arm.

Jared raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever had a girlfriend?” he asked quizzically.

“Something like that,” he responded, grin growing larger by the second.

Jared sighed and shook his head, then looked up to see Mrs. Murphy chatting with another parent and Zoe standing not too far off. “Go on Evan, now’s your chance!” he said, practically shoving the blonde into the room so he stumbled halfway to Zoe.

He looked around for a moment, dazed, trying to take in his surroundings until his sight locked on Zoe Murphy. Her caramel hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, her dress was a beautiful deep purple material that fell to her knees in lovely ripples, and her smile was wonderfully infectious as she laughed at something a fellow band member said. Evan thought he might be in love without ever having exchanged a word.

Timidly, he stepped closer and closer to the radiant girl until he was practically beside her. He was building up courage to tap her on the shoulder when she suddenly spun around and looked up to him, smiling warmly.

“Hey! What's up?” she asked, voice just as beautiful as it was when she sang.

Evan gulped. “Oh, hey! I uh, just wanted to um…say that you guys did a great job. And! Uh…you have a lovely voice,” he said, unknowingly blushing deeper by the second.

Zoe grinned, blushing slightly herself. “Aww, thanks! That means a lot,” she said.

“Well…uh, it's honestly not enough praise, I've never really been to any music performances but this made me want to go to more,” Evan added quickly.

“You're too sweet!” Zoe replied, then smiled at Evan for a few slightly awkward seconds before carrying on the conversation, “oh by the way, I'm Zoe,” she said, sticking out her hand.

Evan slyly wiped his hand on his shirt then quickly gave her a firm handshake. “Yeah, I know. I mean! Uh, Zoe, that's a nice name. I'm Evan! Um…Evan Hansen,” he stuttered, letting go of her hand and pulling his back to his side after several moments.

Zoe giggled. “You're in my pre-calc class, aren't you?” she asked.

“Yeah! Um, that's a pretty tough class, isn't it?” he asked in return, beginning to feel slightly more comfortable with Zoe.

“Sure is, I spent literally four hours on the last test study guide and only got an 85, I was so pissed,” she said, swaying slightly.

“Four hours?!” Evan asked incredulously.

Zoe laughed. “Yup, I thought I was extremely thorough but I guess not,” she said.

“You have a beautiful laugh,” Evan said impulsively, then instantly covered his mouth, embarrassed.

Zoe was stunned, her jaw dropping slightly. However, she quickly recovered. “Oh! Well, um, thank you, I guess?” she said, it being her turn to be extremely flustered as a deeper blush began to spread across her face.

“Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make this awkward, sometimes thoughts just pop into my head? And I can't stop myself from saying them,” Evan said extremely quickly, practically tripping over his words.

“Don't worry about it! It's the nicest compliment I've gotten in a long time, barring when you said I had a lovely voice earlier,” Zoe reassured him, blush calming slightly as she patted him on the arm.

Evan tried his best not to react to her sudden touch, but a light pink blush graced the tops of his ears. Zoe opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by her mother popping up behind the pair.

“Zoe! Time to head out, so sorry if I'm interrupting anything,” she said, quickly winking towards Evan, who began to blush just as much as Zoe was.

“Oh, of course mom! Also, have you met Evan?” Zoe replied, gesturing towards the tomato red boy.

Cynthia gave one of her trademark knowing smiles. “Yes, he actually sat behind Connor and I during the concert,” she explained.

Zoe grinned. “Great! I'll be right over,” she said, subtly shooing her mother away so she could have another moment alone with Evan.

Her mother simply nodded and scurried back to where she had been chatting with other parents, grinning almost as much as her daughter was.

The girl whipped back around to Evan, who had just managed to get his blushing semi-under control.

“Well, it was really nice meeting you Evan! I'm glad you were here tonight,” she said, stepping forward and reaching her arms out for a hug.

“Uh, it was great talking to you!” he responded quickly before he returned the embrace and was enveloped in the warmth of human contact that he didn't always have the luxury of.

The pair embraced for several moments before Zoe squeezed tighter for a second then, to Evan’s surprise, placed her lips on his cheek for a split second before letting go of him and springing a few steps away from him. She waved quickly, as red as she was earlier, then turned and sprinted towards her mother and Connor. Cynthia waved to Evan who finally snapped out of the trance of Zoe maybe-kissing him and lamely waved towards the family.

He watched the three walk out of the band room, Cynthia grinning excitedly to her children, Zoe practically skipping, and Connor slouching in an apparent attempt to hide, when Jared came up from behind him and grabbed his shoulders.

“Oh my fucking god buddy, I can't believe how well that went! I thought you might be able to get a few words out, I had no idea you'd get a kiss from Zoe Murphy by the end of the night!” he exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down, shaking Evan by his shoulders.

“I don't know what I did, I don't know how that worked…I can't believe that worked…” Evan said incredulously, rubbing his temples.

Jared playfully socked him on the shoulder. “I don't know either dude, but whatever you're doing, keep doing it,” he said.

Evan was still in shock, standing silent in the middle of the band room as several jazz band members who had been monitoring the situation from the beginning watched in amusement.

“Well, time to go lover boy, you're mom texted me that she's out there waiting for us and she's been trying to call you for the last ten minutes but you haven't picked up,” Jared said, clasping Evan on his shoulder and finally breaking him out of his trance.

“Oh, oops,” he said, checking his phone and seeing the ten missed calls from Heidi.

“It's all good, man, I'll tell her we were held up by a noble cause,” Jared said teasingly.

Evan simply groaned as Jared cackled. While the other boy replied to his mother’s text, Evan took a moment to collect his thoughts. Zoe Murphy had actually kissed him tonight. He couldn't believe it. Even if it was only a quick peck on the cheek. It was more than he'd ever expected to actually happen. And he couldn't wait to see what the future held, and what his newfound confidence could accomplish.

“Alright, time to head out Romeo. Your mom said she's proud of you and she can't wait to hear all about it,” Jared said, somewhat evilly.

“You really told her?!” Evan asked, gasping.

Jared cackled once more. “Oh, you're too easy,” he said.

“So that means you're lying about telling her?” Evan asked.

“Of course not! I, gonna have wayyyy too much fun on the ride to my house,” Jared answered, still laughing.

“Yay, can't wait,” Evan grumbled, but still smiled. He could take as much of this kind of awkward as the universe could throw at him, because at the end of the day, he finally talked to Zoe Murphy. And that was all that mattered. That was enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> As always, leave any and all comments and constructive criticism down below, I hope you all enjoyed the fic!! Also let me know if you all want to see more from this AU.


End file.
